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The acronym CUSIP typically refers to both the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures and the 9-character alphanumeric security identifiers that they distribute for all North American securities for the purposes of facilitating clearing and settlement of trades. The CUSIP distribution system is owned by the American Bankers Association and is operated by Standard & Poor’s. The CUSIP Service Bureau acts as the National Numbering Association (NNA) for North America, and the CUSIP serves as the National Securities Identification Number for products issued from both the United States and Canada.
In the 1980s there was an attempt to expand the CUSIP system for international securities as well. The resulting CINS (CUSIP International Numbering System) has seen little use as it was introduced at about the same time as the truly international ISIN system. CINS identifiers do appear in the ISIDPlus directory, however. (Wikipedia Jan 2010)